The present invention relates to fruit juice drinks and processes for the commercial production of packaged fruit juice drinks for mass distribution, and, in particular, to watermelon fruit juice drinks and processes for making same.
Watermelon juice, as a beverage, is found almost exclusively as an over-the-counter drink made by hand from the pink flesh of the watermelon fruit. While, in some cultures such as those of Mexico and India, such watermelon drinks are popular, in the United States and elsewhere, watermelon juice drinks are rare, with commercially available packaged watermelon juice drinks virtually unknown.
For the purposes of this description, a typical watermelon is viewed as having three, and sometimes four, components: (1) a relatively hard outer rind typically having a green or greenish color with a thickness of a few millimeters; (2) a firm inner rind having a whitish color and a thickness of a few centimeters; (3) the pink inner fruit flesh which is the part of the watermelon that is typically eaten, and (4) for those watermelons which are not of the seedless variety, flat, usually dark colored, teardrop seeds distributed in the flesh. Because the present invention accommodates both seeded and seedless watermelons, the description of the invention will be with reference to seeded watermelons, with the understanding that any special precautions required by the presence of seeds may not be necessary where the juiced watermelons are seedless.
The commercial production of a packaged watermelon juice drink for mass distribution poses a number of challenges which have not been surmounted prior to the present invention.
These challenges include: (1) minimizing the human handling of the watermelons prior to juicing; (2) extracting from each watermelon the maximum juice available without destroying the desired taste or color; (3) maintaining a color of the packaged juice drink a rich pink of the inside of a watermelon, which color does not turn brown or some other unpleasant tone during production or when exposed to the air; (4) maintaining the fruit pulp in the drink in suspension; (5) extracting from the watermelon those flavor components that one associates with eating watermelon; and (6) delivering the packaged drink to the consumer in a form and at a price that will engender product loyalty for those who enjoy the taste of real watermelon.
The process for making a watermelon drink of the present invention includes the steps of: washing watermelons from the field prior to extracting their juice; extracting juice from all parts of the watermelon except the seeds; filtering the extracted juice; adjusting the filtered juice by adding water to form a drink and for chemical parameters and taste, and then subjecting the filtered, adjusted drink to a thermal process that first pasteurizes the juice by a fast elevation of temperature, followed by rapid cooling to refrigeration temperature, at which temperature it is maintained until consumed.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to commercially produce a watermelon juice drink from watermelon juice that can be packaged and widely distributed, and which has the rich pink color of watermelon flesh, and whose consumption approximates the unique taste experience of eating fresh watermelon, and, for those who find the taste of real watermelon pleasing, will buy the product repeatedly.
Because watermelons are large, fragile, heavy and soft, they pose difficulties for any process that requires their handling. For a commercial process handling thousands of watermelons at a time, each of which must be introduced into the process whole and unbroken, the task is particularly daunting.
Thus, it is another object of the present invention to provide methods for the mechanical extraction of watermelon juice from watermelons without first requiring manual preparation of the melons other than washing.
Yet another object of the invention is to produce a watermelon juice drink as described above in large batches and at a cost that permits it to be sold to the consumer at an acceptable price.